Manila, May 21 (Xinhua-ANI): The United States government is turning over the second Hamilton class cutter to the Philippine government on Wednesday, according to the Philippine government.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos confirmed on Monday that AFP chief Gen. Jessie Dellosa and Rear Adm. Jose Luis Alano, commander of the Navy's Philippine Fleet, have flown to the U.S. to receive the second Hamilton class cutter.

Burgos disclosed that after the turn over, the ship will undergo refurbishing in the U.S. while Navy personnel will undergo training to operate the vessel. The U.S. government, however, did not grant the request of the Philippine government to retain close- in weapon and radar systems in the second ship.

Yeah, another harmless gunboat that will be used mainly for patrol and training of our sailors.

I think we shouldn't be too hard on Uncle Sam on this. I believe the US hesitation to provide us with a "fully-armed" warship is to avoid the appearance of actively "arming" us, especially in light of the problem in Scarborough Shoal.

Had we offered to buy those sensors and weapons at fair market value, that would've been a different story; one the US could easily 'sell' to China as a case of a pure business transaction.

I'm not saying the US is scared of China. I think maybe it has something to do with the succession process going on in China right now. Maybe there's concern in Washington about strengthening some hardliners over in Beijing if the US didn't thread carefully.

Thanks.

Logged

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight. It's the size of the fight in the dog."

" A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one" - Alexander Hamilton

"I am more afraid of an army of 100 sheep led by a lion than an army of 100 lions led by a sheep" - Charles Maurice de Talleyrand

I would rather read the interesting articles posted by the old timers of the forum, as an ex-reservist who did most of his training in Fort bonifacio a long time ago I defer to the senior officers in the forum. If I remember the problem with the Goalkeeper is it is heavier and requires deck penetration whereas the PHALANX does not. The Americans are telling us, you want the good stuff you have to buy it, nothings for free. I f we are really getting Italian ships whether Maestrale, Soldati or both should we not consider the DARDO CIWS:

The Oto-Melara/Otobreda twin 40L70 compact / fast forty gun system is a high performance anti-missile, anti-aircraft and ship-to-ship weapon system.

DARDO is installed in an enclosed turret with two different mounts: the Type A with 440-round internal and 292-round under-deck magazines; and Type B with only the 440-round internal magazine (Type B requires no deck penetration). The mount can be upgraded with the installation of the “fast-forty” recoiling mass.

The Fast Forty is an improved version of the system with a higher rate of fire, dual magazine and dual feed mechanism to allow switching from hight-explosive (HE) to armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) rounds when a missile gets within 1,000 meters from the vessel.

When will we learn to stop begging because the more we beg we get nothing. If we buy the Italian frigates maybe we can get a good price for the Italian weaponry like Otomat missiles, torpedos and CIWS...

.."The U.S. government, however, did not grant the request of the Philippine government to retain close- in weapon and radar systems in the second ship"..Well there goes Hillary's "ready to arm the philippines". At least she has a razor sharp bow that can sink even a carrier!

(The Philippine Star) Updated May 22, 2012 12:00 AM MANILA, Philippines - The United States did not give in to a request by the Philippines to include weapons and accessories in the second warship it will provide to the Philippine Navy.Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said during an interview over radio dzRH that US Coast Guard ship Dallas would be similar to BRP Gregorio del Pilar, which had been stripped of its weapons system before it was turned over to the Philippines last year.

“Pareho lang ng del Pilar (The same with del Pilar),” Gazmin said when asked whether the US had granted the Philippines’ request to retain the armaments of Dallas.

Among the ship’s features that Pama wanted retained were its close-in weapons system, Bushmaster cannons, air search radars and fire control system.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Jessie Dellosa and Philippine Fleet commander Rear Admiral Jose Luis Alano will attend the symbolic turnover of the ship on Wednesday (Manila time) at North Charleston, South Carolina.

Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of a future.It is a product of our imagination. Causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist.That is near insanity. Do not misunderstand me, danger is very real, but fear is a choice. - Cypher Raige